No abstract

The use of illicit drugs causes unquestionable societal and economic damage. To implement actions aimed at combating drug abuse, it is necessary to assess illicit drug consumption patterns. The purpose of this paper was to develop, optimize, validate and apply a procedure for determining new psychoactive substances (NPSs) and classic drugs of abuse and their main metabolites in wastewater samples by using solid phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Moreover, detailed validation of the procedure was conducted. The developed SPE-HPLC-MS/MS procedure (within the sewage-based epidemiology strategy) allowed for the simultaneous, selective, very sensitive, accurate (recoveries ≥ 80.1%) and precise (CV ≤ 8.1%) determination of new and classic psychoactive substances in wastewater samples. This study is characterized by new scientific elements, especially in terms of the freeze-thaw and post-preparative stability of the selected psychoactive substances. This is the first time that NPSs (mephedrone and ketamine), the main metabolites of heroin (6-acetylmorphine, 6-AM) and marijuana (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC-COOH) have been detected and monitored in Poland. This study is also the first to corroborate the data available from the EMCDDA and EUROPOL report and indicates that the retail market for cocaine is expanding in Eastern Europe. Drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking is a global phenomenon that causes a broad spectrum of social, health and economic problems 1-4. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that drug-related problems are becoming increasingly complex, especially with regard to the extremely dynamic nature of the new psychoactive substances market, stimulants, misused medicines and problematic cannabis use 3-7. Moreover, the verification of the presence of traditional illegal drugs (i.e., amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, etc.) in sewage samples is still needed because of environmental and forensic issues 8,9. The environmental impact of synthetic drug production has been highlighted in the last EMCDDA and EUROPOL report 7. Waste from drug production discharged into surface waters may harm aquatic life, can potentially contaminate the meat of cattle, which can affect the human food chain, and could further spread hazardous substances into the soil and waterways 7,10. In this context, it is crucial to pay greater attention to developing new methodologies as tools for monitoring illicit drug consumption and its trends and drug trafficking to combat drug abuse and improve quality of life 11-17. Illegal drug use is mostly an unofficial activity. Consequently, traditional survey methods, such as general population interviews and surveys, can be inaccurate and may also produce results based on conjectures 2,8,18,19. Conventional survey methods are not suitable for monitoring fast-changing drug markets over time 20. T...

In the paper, divided into two parts, a problem of advancements in maritime education and research facing the 21st century challenges, based on the case study of the Gdynia Maritime University (GMU) experience is discussed. Part I is devoted to the main directions of advances in the maritime education and research towards the challenges in a global meaning. In this context, the education and research potential of the Gdynia Maritime University, as one of the world-leading maritime universities, is shortly presented. Part II is dedicated to the Gdynia Maritime University experiencing the 21st century challenges. The GMU's contribution and good practices concerning the participation in modification of the processes of the IMO STCW 78/2010 convention, adoption of programmes into the international and national qualification frameworks' standards and procedures, as well as the development of research addressed to a new technological and organizational solution are described and analyzed.

Improving quality of life still remains the main goal of strategic documents and is promoted by leaders on the global, national, regional, and local levels. Moreover, this ambitious challenge should be consistent with the principles of sustainable development, including the social, economic, and environmental aspects. The ISO 37120 indicators within the World Council on City Data (WCCD) database may be used to monitor the urban performance over time. However, the interpretation of the results is not always easy and sometimes requires a complex analysis. The aim of this paper was to investigate the possibility of illustrating in a transparent way the urban quality of life using the utility method. This study also presents that this method may facilitate making data-driven decisions on urban management, planning and investment. Thus, it may be useful for decision makers and help cities and communities of all sizes to become more sustainable, safe and resilient, prosperous, inclusive, and smart. The analysis has been carried out using the examples of selected European cities: Amsterdam, Gdynia, London, and Zagreb. The hypothesis reads as follows: it is possible to use the total and partial utility method in order to assess the level of urban quality of life with regard to the three dimensions of sustainable development in order to monitor progress and results and prioritize and implement the changes within urban policy. Research results indicate that there are significant differences between the compared cities within the economic, social, and ecological aspects. This analysis may constitute an introduction to the development of more complex models in the future.

In the paper, divided into two parts, a problem of advancements in maritime education and research facing the 21st century challenges, based on the case study of the Gdynia Maritime University (GMU) experience is discussed. Part I is devoted to the advances in the maritime education and research towards the challenges in a global meaning. The maritime education challenges are focused on contribution of the University's representatives in full implementation of the STCW 1978 as amended in 2010 convention, and on the flexible adoption of the academic specializations and programmes to the European and National Qualifications Frameworks, as well as to the needs of a global and local labour market. The research advancements in the maritime universities are basically oriented to marine transport problems, and their main focus is concentrated on the implementation of new technologies, effective and reliable technical and organizational solutions, friendly for users and environment. Part II is dedicated to the Gdynia Maritime University experiencing the 21st century challenges. In this part, firstly the education and research potential of the Gdynia Maritime University, as the one of the world-leading maritime universities, is shortly presented. And next, the GMU's contribution and good practices concerning the participation in modification of the processes of the IMO STCW 78/2010 convention, adoption of programmes into the international and national qualification frameworks' standards and procedures, as well as the development of research addressed to a new technological and organizational solution are described and analyzed. http://www.transnav.eu the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation Volume 7 Number 4

Despite the positive aspects of the intensive development of aviation, airports are considered large-scale polluters. Pollution caused by runoff water (stormwater) is one of the major problems related to airport operations. The aim of this study was to characterize the potential toxic impact on aquatic life from runoff water discharges from four international airports in Europe. Samples of stormwater were collected at airports with different capacities of passenger movement in four seasons of the year from 2011 to 2013. Within the ecotoxicological analyses, a battery of biotests incorporating organisms of different trophic levels (Microtox® test, Thamnotoxkit F™) were used. A relatively high number of runoff water samples collected at the investigated airports in Europe was recorded as having very high acute hazard (16.8%), acute hazard (27.7%), and slight acute hazard (18.1%) levels. The results of the research indicate that winter and autumn present a greater toxic threat than the rest of the year. The highest number of toxic samples was observed for samples collected in the de-icing area, the runway and the vicinity of airport terminals. The ecotoxicological assessment applied in this research can be used as a tool for assessing the environmental effect of airports.

No abstract

Humanity is exceeding planetary boundaries, and it seems that it is unlikely to meet internationally agreed sustainable development goals. Current trends and challenges in the domain of urban sustainability assessment have proven that measuring and interpreting results regarding quality of life requires a complex analysis. The aim of this paper is to investigate the possibility of comparing, in a transparent way, urban quality of life using sustainable development indicators based on the ISO 37120 standard, taking as case studies seven selected cities: Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Gdynia, London, Los Angeles and Zagreb. The hypothesis reads as follows: the ISO 37120 indicators, converted into partial and total utility value, then grouped within sustainable development dimensions (environmental, economic and social) may be used to measure the level of urban quality of life. Research results indicate that there are some significant and interesting differences between the compared cities within the environmental, economic and social pillars. The analysis, conducted with the use of utility method, may facilitate taking the right decisions on urban management, planning and investment. Thus, this tool may be useful for decision makers and help cities and communities of all sizes to become more safe, resilient, prosperous, inclusive, smart and sustainable.